Infernalism
Note that this page will include arguably apocryphal information and lore based on the sources from when the Iron Kingdoms story-setting was a branch-off of Dungeons & Dragons and it's rules. He seemed a kindly old hermit when he begged entry, and we welcomed him into the library with open arms. We trusted him too easily, too quickly; let him lead us with sweet lies and false smiles. We discovered his depravity too late. That trust cost two of my friends their souls. One of his victims, a girl not even twelve winters, escaped and came to us, babbling incoherently. We broke down his door, found his unholy diagrams and blasphemous tomes, but he had vanished. We found the scrupulously clean abattoir in his cellar where he kept his victims before summoning his dark masters. I have not slept a full night since. I have no count of the lives and souls he has stolen, but I will have an accounting. — Crucible Guard Barefo Pagani, Midfast,on the infamous infernalist Khevre Lichko Infernalism is Black Magic classified within the Iron Kingdoms as 'the practice of communicating with and negotiating with infernal entities". The study and invocation of infernal entities is a discipline more blasphemous and feared than necromancy. Few are mad or desperate enough to truck with these creatures from realms beyond Caen and Urcaen. Contacting the infernals is perilous, and those who possess the knowledge guard it jealously. Despite having learned how to summon infernal creatures, bind them into service, and make terrible bargains with them, infernalists often know little about the creatures themselves or what deeper desires they may foster beyond a hunger for the souls of the living. Most infernalists are arcanists who have opened a font of power that grants them frightening and terrible gifts. The price is invariably paid in souls, and infernalists often barter pieces of their own essense as well as selling souls stolen from others. The dreadful actions of infernalists have magnified the suspicion and distrust heaped on all who practice magic, making them as hated by other magic practitioners as by the pious. Dabbling in Summoning and Infernalism The use of conjuration and summoning magics is a rare and oft maligned specialty in western Immoren. The conjuration of goods and materials by raw magical effort is rarely practiced by wizards, and spells from this underdeveloped field of research are few and scarce. Most wizards are content to work with existing materials, enhancing or transforming them with magic. Likewise, summoning is rarely practiced openly as this art has long been linked with infernalism, and seems to draw unwanted Infernal attention even in cases where the summoner is not attempting to contact those foul otherworldly realms (or "planes") from Caen. It is widely, and perhaps correctly, believed that creatures sent in response to monster summonings are special servants of the Devouer. Many of these beasts responding to the more commonly known summonings are strange beasts, wholly unknown throughout the lands of Western Immoren, beasts with shapes as strange as some of those commonly associated with the great Wurm himself. Infernal Interlopers Every time a being casts a Conjuration (Calling) or Conjuration (Summoning) spell, there is a chance of an Infernal of the Nonokrion Order (or another Infernal Society) notices the caster. In most cases, the Infernal will Mark this caster and subject him to continued scrutiny. If the Infernal's interest is piqued it may begin to tempt the would-be Infernalist with dream-sendings, offering power, rare spells, or other enticements. There are rumors regarding the dangers of summoning spells and the unwanted attention that they can draw. This attention could also result in an Infernal riding along the summoning. All conjuration spells from the Teleportation subschool have the same chance of attracting Infernal attention as those from the Calling and Summoning subschools. However, this danger does not apply to conjuration spells from the Creation and Healing subschools. Elementals Free-willed, sentient elementals do not exist on Caen, Instead any spell that would normally summon elementals actually gathers together a specific elemental force (fire, wind, etc.) and temporarily fives form and substance to that elemental force. While these creatures are not truly sentient, primal elemental force is dangerous and difficult to control. The caster must a strong will and determination to control the elemental creatures. If he succeeds, he can mentally command the elementals to do exactly as he wishes. If he fails, the elementals act as if under the effects under the effects of a confusion spell and are just as likely to attack their creator as anyone else. Infernalists ''I have indeed spoken with infernalists - though oft wish I had not. They are dangerous, but often knowledgeable and sometimes even sickly polite. Do not fear, I know better to trust them, nor do I condone their unholy and depraved arts. I just as soon keep my soul, thank you very much! - ''Victor Pendrake Infernalists whisper to the unholy denizens of the outer realms and contract with them to acquire greater arcane power and knowledge faster than their peers. Not all practitioners of this black art begin their illicit study as malevolent monsters. Some well-meaning occultists hope to bend the powers of darkness against evil. Others, blinded by arrogance, become convinced that they can gain the upper hand against the creatures they study. Inevitably, this practice leads down a slippery path of moral compromises and insidious agreements. Those who master infernalism damn uncounted innocents and spend immortal souls like currency to curry favor with unholy entities. Infernalists are bibliophiles of dark occult lore, ever searching for more information about the outer realms and its denizens. From their hidden laboratories, they penetrate the barrier between worlds and communicate with alien societies that thirst for mortal souls. They kidnap, murder, sacrifice innocents, and worse in their depraved obsession for power. Infernalists must remain secretive if they value their lives, although other wizards who associate with an infernalist may suspect the true nature of his work. Every major wizard order publicly condemns infernalists and refuses them membership, but occasionally higher officers may secretly tolerate a discreet practitioner so long as he does not endanger the order. A few well-placed bribes or “special favors” also help to preserve infernalists from discovery. Summoning infernals carries great risk, takes time to master, and requires an infernalist to already boast formidable arcane strength. He must have a strong will, confident personality, and pay precise attention to detail. Infernals sometimes actively recruit arcane practitioners who experiment with conjuration or summoning magic. Despite the efforts of organizations like the Order of Illumination, the infernals have managed to enlist the services of many mortal collaborators. Most infernalists have chosen of their own free will to serve beings from beyond Urcaen, tempted by offers of greater power, given special boons, or corrupted and manipulated into surrendering liberty and former loyalties. Some infernalists believe the supremacy of the infernals is inevitable, and so they see collaboration as the only way to avoid obliteration. In the end,they facilitate the destruction of their own kind. Infernalists can come from all walks of life and station, though the most useful have been those born with the Gift of Sorcery. A powerful arcanist who becomes an infernalist can often seize a leadership position among the cults. This is particularly true is one has their masters by fulfilling their contractual obligations and surrendering large number of souls, most often stolen from hapless and innocent victims during sacrificial rites. Accomplished infernalists who have acquired any degree of true power often create their own cults, bringing others into their pacts. Each of these cults has it's own rites and practices but all serve their master and must do as commanded. Cultists become useful henchmen and bodyguards for their leaders as well as assistants in gathering fresh victims and dealing with any other mundane matters their leaders requires of them. Cultists bands are eager to join their greater masters in battle, seeign them as akin to gods. These bands overwhelm by sheer numbers wielding rune-covered ritual blades that whisper to them and pulse with inner heat in the presence of infernals. The most devoted and prodigious killers may be elevated to dark sentinels, entrusted with special tasks by cult leaders. Infernal masters care not for the desires or prayers of their cultists, seeing them only as walking resources. Masters are quite willing to reap souls of these minions when they have need of their essence. Cultists do have their uses, however. Their fervent belief empowers nearby horrors, and in the right circumstances, they can seize enemies without slaying them. Such captives are subjected to the whispers of the masters, which sometimes results in fresh converts whose minds and eyes have been opened to the dark truth. Some infernalists embrace their chosen path with greater than normal enthusiasm, surrendering themselves utterly to the cause and giving up their humanity. Referred to as Wretches. these individuals have put their past identities behind them and have earned a variety of boons from their patrons that allow them to unleash terrifying magic. Infernal power has transfigured them into monsters with scaled skin, wrapped in chains that symbolize their bondage to higher powers and tattered rags that are all that remains of their former attire. Infamous Infernalist Cults The coming of the infernals has been a well-kept secret, buried in layers of myth, misdirection, and outright disbelief, but those collaborators with clandestine insight have known the truth all along. While some infernalists operate alone or in impenetrable shadows, others have been instructed by their masters to gather their cults to join the fight directly. Infernal Contracts ''"That simple, eh? I just have to sign here, and you'll just take care of everything, right?" - ''The infamous Ciarda Isaebel, upon signing her first infernal contract The bond between an infernalist and an infernal master is formalized in contracts, and these can be confusing and complicated documents with layers of cryptic meaning. Infernalists who have studied those have come before them may seek to control their situation by borrowing on the ritualized writings of those who have come before. It can be sometimes be difficult to separate the truly important and binding aspects of a contract from the more formalized rhetoric and empty invocations. Contacts initiated by the infernals themselves do not include these empty passages but can be intricately worded and exploit potential misinterpretations to trip up and confuse those who lack sufficient expertise. At their core, every contract includes promises on either side which are exacting binding and which delineate the evolving nature of the obligations between the infernalists and infernal. Skilled infernalists might arrange for advantageous terms early in their negotiations but will invariably be caught up in concessions and eventually find themselves at the mercy of the infernals. The process of taking mortals from self-deluded mastery to bound enslavement is one of that the infernal masters have practiced for untold centuries. Boons Shadow magic spells are not normally available to casters in Western Immoren. Special versions of these spells may be made available to infernalists by ther patrons. In these cases, the spells call on forces beyond mortal ken, forces from the alien realm of the Infernals. Some Horrors / Conscriptus have at times been gifted as boons to infernalists to protect them or to destroy their foes and they are among the most frightening of adversaries, each a being utterly dissimilar to anything living on Caen. Among the greatest of boons an infernal can bestow upon a mortal infernalist is the gift of a tome of their own manufacture. These blasphemous works are said to be owned by the most valued and skilled of infernalists, though some small number have fallen in the hands of the Sancteum and Thamar's septs. Those who tried to parse through them insist that true infernal tomes are dense with imperceptible information, with meaning secreted within hidden glyphs that exist between the visible words, between the lines, and even between the pages themselves. In reading such forbidden lore, the mind is opened to invasive thoughts that originate from beyond the physical realm. The complex writings on these pages shift and change from one reading to the next, revealing new mysteries. Mastering such texts invites madness but can provide insight into hidden secrets. Thamarite Arcanists The Thamarite faith has a complicated attitude toward the practice of infernalism. According to Thamarite teachings, all routes to power are acceptable. This would seem to endorse seeking infernal fonts of arcane knowledge and empowerment. Certainly most western Immorren's experts on infernalism are Thamarites who have studied and accumulated considerable lore about these beings, including the names and titles of many. Scion Ekris is reputed to have had dealings with infernals, and the very Gift of Magic may be rooted in contact between Thamar and the greatest infernal powers. However, most Thamarites do not endorse contact with or arrangements with infernals. Infernals ultimately seek to enslave mortal souls and are exceptionally intelligent and manipulative besides being immortal. Thamarites are expected to keep their souls free from entanglements and enter Urcaen after death unfettered by the Mark infernals place on those who have bargained with them. Maintaining the upper hand with these powers over an extended period of time is nearly impossible for most mortals, even the most learned of Thamarites. The Infernal Archive XxXx References * No Quarter issue 14 * Iron Kingdoms Character Guide Full-Metal Fantasy Volume 1 Pg.264-265, 266,357-358 * Monsternomicon Volume I - Denizens of the Iron Kingdoms V3.5, pg.105 * Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game Core Rules Pg.85, 93, 96 * Warmachine Oblivion Category:Magic Category:Infernals